Memo To: Kofi Annan, UN General SecretaryFrom: Jude
WanniskiRe: The Vacuum Left by the King

The following is a short
memoriam written by my colleague at Polyconomics, Peter Signorelli, who is our
resident specialist on Middle East matters. As you will see, it is a bit
different than most of what has been appearing in eulogies for King Hussein
upon his early death. The numbers of true peacemakers are diminished by the
king's death — which makes more important the role of those few who remain. By
your record, you have chosen that course. Finding a way to keep open the door
to reconciliation by Iraq and its regional neighbors is the best way to
prevent the new regional vacuum from being filled with instability, war, and
destruction. The western media are wrong to assert that King Hussein had
become an implacable foe of Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Yes, he was harsh in his
criticisms of the Iraqi ruler, but he made every effort to find a way to
peacefully bring Saddam back into the family fold and away from the precipice.
You now inherit that task, Mr. Secretary General.

* * * *

We rejoice over a birth and mourn over a death. But we
should not. For when a man is born, who knows what he will do or how he will
end? But when a man dies, we may rejoice — if he left a good name and this
world in peace. From the Midrash

Hussein ibn Talal
al-Hashem, King of Jordan, was a remarkably singular promoter of peace and
stability in a region that has rarely experienced such an existence. King
Hussein measured up to the tests that came his way in events not of his making
or choosing, always seeking the road that might best ensure stability for the
region. Yet this approach was more than just noble intentions. It flowed from
the King's intrinsic commitment to peaceful resolution of conflicts — more
specifically from his sense of the good shepherd or of the prodigal son's
father. Intrinsic to his statesmanship was the fact that King Hussein always
left the door open for reconciliation.

Most media accounts cite his
tireless efforts to promote peace with Israel, a commitment so intense for him
that he arose from his bed at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic to help advance
Israeli-Palestinian peace agreements. What is less referred to, or simply
dismissed as the King's cowering before a powerful neighbor — his defense of
Iraqi grievances -- gets less notice. When the coalition in favor of war
against Iraq was being assembled, the King, almost alone, was working
tirelessly to find a negotiated peaceful resolution to Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait among the regional parties. He stood up against the rulers in the
entire region and against the U.S. and its European allies. When Desert Storm
got underway he condemned it, bitter that his efforts for peaceful options had
not been supported by other Arab regimes, or by the West. King Hussein and his
country paid a terrible price, as the Saudis severely punished the kingdom
economically, and the U.S. diplomatically isolated Jordan. But he was never
one to depart from principles in the face of adversity. King Hussein saw in
Iraq the potential of a prodigal son who could return home. The King always
believed in leaving the door open.

In 1996, when Jordan was forced to
adopt IMF conditionalities — price hikes, austerity, currency debasement — the
kingdom was threatened by widespread and alarming riots. King Hussein
responded with military force and suspension of the national legislature to
quell the unrest. But shortly after the crackdown, he was ordering the release
of prisoners, was touring the country to listen to people, and sought to
reconcile with his opponents. Such statesmanship is unique in the Middle East,
and much of the rest of the world as well. The spokesmen for reconciliation
are too few and far between. His death is a terrible loss as we enter the new
millennium.